So Anna tell me how long it’s been since you’ve come to Japan, you’ve been in Japan?

Anna

I moved here Ten years ago.

Arthur

Ten years?

Anna

Yes

Arthur

What? Like wow! And years ago what made you want to come?

Anna

Well, my first time was when I was fourteen with my family,and my uncle lived in Sasebo, which is down in Kyushu. And I either wanted to be in the Navy, which he was, or come to live in Japan. So the Navy, I was like, umm, I have physical limitations, I couldn’t do it. So, Japan it is! So after graduating from university I came onJET.

Arthur

OK Jet. So,JET. What is the JET program again?

Anna

The JET Program is the…It’s short for Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme so you can go into basically the countryside of Japan and teach English assistant English teacher in the elementary schools now and then the junior high school in high school, and sometimes going to preschools also.

Arthur

I think I have a friend who did that actually, he lives in Tochigi. He was actually supposed to come meet me today, but I think he canceled.

Anna

Hh no.Haha Yeah I did that for five years, and then I moved to Tokyo five years ago and I’ve been here ever since.

Arthur

Do you think you’re going to be in Tokyo for a really long time?

Anna

Yeah for as long, yeah I haven’t grown tired of Japan yet, yeah.

Arthur

So when you first came to Japan, what was something that surprised you.

Anna

I guess… I don’t know, maybe driving on the other side of the road, like something as simple as that, right? Like, cause in America we drive on the opposite side? I don’t know which side we drive on.

Anna

And then yeah maybe just the cars, like even the cars were made? the driver seat was on the other side and the blinker and the wipers I always got them mixed up.

Anna

Like that’s just like something technical that I would do every day in America that I never thought of doing and then I came here and I’m like “Wait, oh thats the wipers! No I don’t need that, I need to turn!”

Arthur

Yeah I, you know, I’m too scared to drive in Japan because of that. I mean, but you lived in Miyagi?.

Anna

Yeah, you need a car, yeah.

Arthur

So, so, do you remember what your first day in Japan was like?

Anna

Yes, I remember. Coming, yeah I remember, we came and it was actually in Shinjuku. And we went to Keio, the Keio hotel and there was tons of foreigners, like tons of JETs the new JETs.

Anna

They would come as, like, two thousand people all at the Keio hotel.Maybe not all of them, but like two thousand come every year through the JET Program so maybe it’s like… it was a good chunk.And so a lot of them came from America, so I went immediately to an American English speaking people And I was like “hey!”

Anna

But we also went through the so there were ten going to Tomei-shi in Miyagi, which is where I was going, and so then we instantly bonded and made friends.And then I remember going to Miyagi and everyone else had a Japanese speaking Japanese teacher who could speak English.And the guy who was helping me, because he was in elementary school, didn’t speak any English and my Japanese was very little. So we were like “Hey. Hi.” But he in, through the five years, like he was like my best bud.

Arthur

OK so even though like at first you couldn’t communicate well…

Anna

Right, yeah.

Arthur

How, how did you overcome that language barrier where you can’t communicate with this person?

Anna

Yeah, well I think we just made jokes and we smiled and we used a lot of body communication. Like, “I don’t know! I’m scared!” You just, you know he just, yeah he was always making the mood light and funny, you know.

Arthur

Yeah, that’s really cool. Thats really cool. You know, I have I have a friend who, like I said, is in Jet. And he is in Tochigi right now. Right now and then he feels a lot of like. 摩擦.A lot of like friction with some of the people he’s working with. But it seems like for you it was a positive.

Anna

Yeah yeah I think it also depends on area and everything. And it was an elementary school and the teachers have to be light and friendly you know to the kids, you know, we, you know, we take care of them for a long time. Yeah.

Anna

I did have some friction later on in years at different school, but, like it just I mean, it happens wherever you go. Yeah yeah even right now I have some friction with Japanese cowokers. Yeah yeah.

Arthur

What is the English education system like in Japan? You’ve experienced it in Japan, you know.

Anna

Yeah, well I think they only really focus on like, the junior high school and the high school levels, they they focus on a lot of grammar and vocabulary so its a lot of input input input.And they say they have “oral communication” when in quotation marks with my fingers, but it’s not really like it’s very only five minutes or ten minutes and they just they don’t teach how to use it.So a lot of Japanese workers, you know, they they have the capability to speak. They don’t, they just don’t know how to use what they’ve learned. That’s my opinion.

Arthur

Yeah, so they learn but they never are actually able to really use it. yeah yeah I mean I see that too. I just heard that from all my friends and stuff and I thought about joining the JET program, but i thought “uhh….. I don’t know I just wanted to teach on my own basis,” you know?

Anna

Yeah, yeah. I mean it was, it’s a cushy job for doing mostly nothing all of the day. But, I mean, it was a way for me because I came I wanted to come and learn the language not necessarily teach English. I wanted to be here for the people and for and for myself to learn the language. Yeah.

Arthur

So, you are you studying Japanese right now, too.

Anna

No, not right now.

Arthur

But at first you were.

Anna

At first I was, yes.

Arthur

How did you learn Japanese in Japan?

Anna

In Japan, well, I bought books, you know, books to help. And so in my free time when I wasn’t teaching kids at the classes I was sitting there studying. And then the JET Program has a couple courses you can go through.

Arthur

Oh, really?

Anna

So I did like the translation and interpretation course. And I had some help, you know, with the teachers. They were helping me a lot, too. And when I made mistakes, you know, it was OK. I didn’t stop and be like “I can’t do this anymore bye !” No that was not the way at all.

Arthur

But you can’t leave, because you’re here, you know. You can’t get into a situation where you can escape from it.

Anna

right

Arthur

Well, maybe you could, yeah, but so, what for you when you were learning Japanese? What was something that was really difficult for you?

Anna

I really think the polite the level of politeness the Keigo. Yes that is very difficult for me, you know? Because like in English we don’t really I don’t think we think about it as much. And we don’t really have special words for that. There’s no special ending to put on, like “Is this person here? oh irassharunndesuka?” Like it’s not there’s no special ending to put in it. So it’s a very different way of thinking, Keigo, yeah and that stuff.

Anna

And then I have my the most trouble I have with right now is “can’t do something.” Like “I can’t do. I can’t swim.” you know? But I always put it together. “Oyogu-dekinai!” so, I use the two words and put them together and they’re like “oyogenai” and I’m like. hahahhaaha! Every day it’s the same mistake!

Arthur

Yeah, no I get that. For me like, yeah, things were really complicated for me. When I was learning Japanese at first, you know, I remember when I first started studying I was like. “What? The words are word order is backwards. What? How does this work ?” I thought it was I thought it was so different from anything else I had studied. Because I’ve been used to French and German and Spanish, but i saw Japanese and it was like a whole ‘nother animal.

Anna

Yeah exactly I think when I first started speaking Japanese was in actually or, studying, was in university. But I’d just learned Spanish. So I was mixing the two languages together a lot. And also, like, I learned from the romaji first, which I’m not sure if that’s like the best way to go into it. Because they’re like “You don’t need hiragana or katakana yet, let’s just do it the romaji the alphabet way!” you know? And like, huh? OK.

Arthur

Yeah, I think it’s really important to not try to rely on English stuff too much and just go right into it.

Anna

Because if you translate everything correctly, you’re just going to get stopped and you’re not going to be able to finish your communication with anything .

Arthur

Yeah right so. What is something we’re kind of changing topics a bit, but what is something you find really unique about Japan? That like, if someone were to ask you, like, “what makes Japan special?” Like. What was the first thing that comes to mind?

Anna

Yeah, I think, kind of comes to like why did I come. Because, like, I really came for like the culture and the traditional things. I like how they still keep their traditions most of it alive. And so I really got into that part. And so I was, in Miyagi again, I had lots of time so I learned like the shamisen playing and like putting on a kimono you know.

Arthur

You learned shamisen stuff?

Anna

Yeah I learned Shaminsen, I can play it yeah!

Arthur

Ok, next time you have to play it for me. I think that’s so cool!

Anna

It’s the big one: the Tsugaru. Yeah, the tohoku version. And yeah, but unique I think that they still, you know, it’s also kind of a hindrance to them, too, but they rely still on like the past and in the cultural and the traditions a lot still.

Anna

But, you know, that’s what’s amazing. Like in America, there’s so many different it’s such a mixing pot that I don’t know what is American culture per se. Like there’s so much, like maybe people say “What is the culture?” and you’re like “Oh, just the T.V. shows.” you know? Like, that’s about it, you know?

Anna

But Japan actually has like that, like that, I don’t know. The word it escapes me right now. Yeah. I think that’s what I think is unique about Japan. And I really love Japan’s history and

Arthur

Yeah that’s right, we talked about that last time. Yeah I’m a big big history nerd.So let me look at this. So you’ve been here for ten years now, is there still something that’s difficult for you about living here?

Anna

I think sometimes, the language still sometimes gets me. Like I’m not no one’s perfect in any language, even in English I’m not perfect but I think the language a lot still, and with the keigo forms, too. Like, reading a lot. I don’t have to write, but reading.

Anna

So you get like notices in the mail. Or like about like “oh they’re coming to do construction” and like “they’re the water pipes or something or checking the fire alarms.” And you’re like “Wait, what!?” And then the thing is like they do it during the day when you’re at work, and then you have to take time off work, but you can’t take that time cause they have to take it out of your paycheck. And its like its all that loopholes and the bureaucracy and stuff yeah.

Arthur

I remember for me when I first moved to Japan one of the toughest things for me was dealing with setting up my utilities.Comes in there’s this form with like “put your bank account here. It’s for this thing and then this is kind of the payment schedule, then this is going to happen and put your stamp here and like this….” What am I supposed to do with this?

Arthur

“You rip off this page and then you fold it over, put the seal on it” well no, “you take the seal off and then you put it in and then after you fill it in” and you have to take one for yourself and then these two things go to two different places and I was like. “What was it?” I had asked for a couple friends to help me with that.

Anna

I do like how they have the system where you can go to the convenience store pay anything at the convenience. You don’t have to send like a check like we do in America to the place. I mean now we have Apple pay, but, But they don’t use that .

Arthur

Whenever I tell my friends that I can pay my taxes and my utility bills at Seven Eleven they’re like “What!?”

Anna

Yeah exactly, they’re Like “at a gas station? what?”

Arthur

What is something though you miss about living from home living at home?

Anna

I think, because now I live in Tokyo, I don’t have my own car and, I mean, the trains you can get around anywhere you want, but you’re still time limited. But in a car in America for sure you could go any time anywhere. Like even Miyagi. I could do that too cause it was my own car and I could go anywhere. But you would just be going in rice fields. But in America, at least you’d be going somewhere and you wouldn’t have to be like looking for landmarks. They have street signs. Like, it’s clearly labeled where you’re going in America, but here…OK.

Anna

Anyway, but here it’s just rice fields and more rice fields. In Miyagi it was. Rice fields and more rice fields. And you’re like “OKm turn at that 田んぼ over there and you’re like… wait. what?” Right, so I learned a lot about myself about that I can do directions pretty well. So once I’ve been there I can go again most likely.

Arthur

So a lot of Japanese people of course when they see you, you know, they want to talk with you. I mean, you’re a foreigne, they want to get know you, they want to know where you’re from, and the cultural exchange stuff. And I’m sure some people talk to you in English. When a Japanese person talks to you in English they make a mistake, what do you think about that? How does that make you feel?

Anna

I think, I’ve been here a long time, like I don’t want to like hurt them in a way. And be like “Oh sorry, you made a mistake. Goodbye.” No. I’m not going to do that. Like, I’ll just kind of maybe just let it pass. And then maybe after, towards the end of our conversation, maybe I’ll be like “Oh can I help you in a little bit with an English mistake that you might you made?” Like maybe after the fact.

Anna

Not right away, “Stop! You have to say this! Not this!” Like, that’s too intimidating. That’s not very nice. and I also learned to speak a little slower with the Japanese, too. And , and I think that hopefully that makes them more, you know, willing to come and speak to me to me. But I also tend to 混ぜる, mix my English with Japanese and then maybe…

Arthur

You don’t, like, think negatively…

Anna

NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY. I think it’s just the way they’ve been brought up. Like, if they make a mistake and they freeze and they’re just like “oh!” But no that’s not, you know, they need to you know to have have it relaxing. And if we, if we as an English speaker, native English speakers stop them then they’re going affect, their, their confidence is just totally going to be crushed. And then they will not take that chance again with someone else.

Anna

So, I think it’s up to us to actually just accept that they’re also learning you know we’re learning Japanese and they’re also learning English so you know it’s both the same. We’re all in the same boat.

Arthur

We’re all the same…

Anna

Right, same situations of learning the languages, yeah.

Arthur

There’s no boat, guys.

Anna

Yeah, sorry, no boats, sorry.

Arthur

Yeah so let’s, so a lot of people, they want to talk to you, right? And they would want to get you know you, and you’re a really friendly person, but if someone wanted to get to know you personally, what no, not if someone wanted to get to know you personally, but if someone just wanted to get connected with foreigners and make friends and practice their English, what kind of things should they do?

Anna

I think, yeah maybe going to outside events like a park. I mean, it’s kind of intimidating you know “oh! there’s bunch of foreigners, but I don’t want to go. It’s so crazy!” but I think maybe, maybe if we kind of like noticed them, and then we I think most of us, I would hope I would be like “Hey , you want to join us?” Or going to like meetups that they have a lot now these days. And likegoing to international parties. And like set up that way.

Anna

I used to think actually like way back then like “Oh they only want to use me to speak their language,” but then I thought “Wait, that’s kind of what I’m doing.” Yeah, I want to use them to speak their language, you know, so, but now I just cut that barrier out and I just, I’m willing to help if they want to speak with me. And that’s great. I just wanted to be more communication friendly, more make the world a smaller place. Yeah, that way through communication and…

Arthur

Yeah no I felt the same way, too. At first I was like “Man! these people just want to use me for English” but then I realized “Oh, I’m kind of using them for Japanese” you know? And yeah, now I’m happy when someone talks to me.